Hey look! It’s a playlist from one of my shows! No, I haven’t forgotten about here. I just have nothing good to write about. Actually, that’s a lie. I have great things to write about, but I can’t post them here just yet. This was a fun show. What say [...]
I think it’s great that small businesses have embraced Twitter as a way to reach out to customers/supporters. In some ways, Twitter is like an email list brimming with people who actually want to hear from you. And the openendedness of the application allows businesses to be creative with using [...]
Come hell or high water (of course it would rain), today WPRB is curating an event at the Whole Foods in Princeton called “Localpalooza,” from 4-7PM. It should be lots of fun and if you’re in the area, come on out. Jennifer O’Connor and Brown Recluse [...]
Magically, the phrase “vagina panther” is totally OK to say on air, but it just feels so wrong. Stop laughing, you’re not 12 years old!
07-31-2009 | 1500-1700 | WPRB 103.3 FM
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she trinity – climb that tree – destroy that boy! – N C
vagina panther – please just [...]
I’m really late to the game on this one, but I have been loving Personal & the Pizzas a whole bunch lately. I think it would be a federal crime if the daughter of a pizza shop owner, such as myself, didn’t like this. I was Pizza Rock before [...]
Holy crap this post is so 90s, with my Friends reference in the title and all. Was thrilled to see so many of you tuning in for the Van Pelt performance, and even happier that it sounded great. Feel free to share your thoughts about the live set in the [...]
Your mood will take a turn for the worse when you realize you can’t remember what you wanted to be when you grew up. You’ve probably landed way far off the mark, so you should just give up.
Man, what a lousy horoscope I got today! Wait a sec: does this [...]
I had a lot of awesome emails after this show. I’m still blushing.
07-10-2009 | 1500-1700 | WPRB 103.3 FM
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frank black – headache – teenager of the year
electrelane – bells – axes
spoon – stroke their brains – got nuffin – N
hecuba – la musica – paradise [...]
Note to self: This is how you do a radio show. My only disappointment was that Adam Arcuragi was recording in the studios today, and because I was on air, I didn’t get much of a chance to say hi.
07-02-2009 | 1500-1700 | WPRB 103.3 FM
spoon – got nuffin [...]
Looking back, this seems like a good show. But in the thick of it I just couldn’t get my foothold. There is some weird sound issue with the microphones where it sounds like I’m speaking through a cardboard tube, and that just totally threw me off at any mic break. [...]
Where I was when The News Broke: at the WPRB offices, frantically trying to fix a problem we had with the on-air DJ’s instant message software. I rushed into the studio to tell Lizbot, who was wrapping up her show, and John, the next DJ. Then came the flurry of [...]
I can’t believe June is basically over — time really does fly when you’re having fun. WPRB is keeping me busy, as is my thesis.
I taped over the weekend a live performance of The Van Pelt, who reunited all of a sudden this year, and decided to play a [...]
At least that’s what it did for one of my listeners. I can’t think of a higher compliment, and I’m glad — today was a blast. I had an extended show due to the Top Ten not being available yet, so I just brought it on. Of course, how do [...]
Hi folks, after many months of inside baseball, the project for my master’s thesis has been approved. Actually, I’m kind of shocked at how quickly I was approved by the university’s review board; I honestly didn’t expect my research to be approved for another month.
Anyway, now I need your [...]
After a whole month of being off the air due to schoolwork and Life, I made my way back into the safe, loving arms of WPRB. And what did I do to show my thanks? I started off the set with a song containing the most undesirable musical elements — [...]
I don’t think I mentioned this before… Her Jazz now offers an option for commenting through an OpenID. (I’m typing this on my cursed iPhone, so I can’t directly link. Exercise your Google-fu in the meantime!)
If you currently have a username on here, you can associate your OpenIDs with it, [...]
Jay Rosen posted this article on Twitter today and in light of my previous post the following is apropos:
3. Journalists will need to be very reliable and trustworthy. Enabling readers to comment publicly on stories means that journalists can no longer get away with shoddy work - readers can [...]
So you’ve probably heard by now that the “Hipster Grifter” has been caught. That’s a good thing because, you know, stealing is bad. And this means that finally we can finally stop talking about this story for good. Or will we?
Now more than ever before, hipsterdom has been on [...]
Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, New Orleans, April 2009.
My brain is a cross between a dog chasing its own tail and a hamster running on one of those treadmill-y things these days. (No, no hamster on a piano.) “School is hard!” Oh man, now I just sound like [...]
I’m headed off to New Orleans this week for the Popular Culture & American Culture Association’s national conference to give a presentation. I’ll be covering the fascinating topic of concert photographs, a subject near and dear to my heart. Public speaking makes me nervous, so I’m going to do [...]
After feeling like I had done a less than spectacular job the week before, this show was a significant improvement. That Chris Wollard disc is chock full of Dinosaur Jr-esque guitar snarls — who knew I’d actually like something released by a member of Hot Water Music? I recommend checking [...]
I don’t know. This show just didn’t sit right with me, even as I was doing it. Thoughts?
03-27-2009 | 1800-2000 | WPRB 103.3 FM
glenn branca - lightfield in consonance - the ascension - R
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oran “juice” jones - the rain - 12″
chisel - your star is killing me [...]
There are two things I am always hesitant to do: 1) discuss personal “stuff” on a public space on the Internet; 2) ask for things. The first one should come as a no-brainer. The second one is a bit more murky.
It’s not that I expect or demand things to happen [...]
I’m usually quite good at reading announcements, but today I stumbled over everything — including a very cool announcement about some filipino palm-weaving workshop. To add insult to injury, I started laughing in the middle of it! Not because of the content, but rather my inability to control my spazziness.
Two [...]
Tuned to WPRB… inside the WPRB transmitter.
I don’t think radio is a “dead” medium. People, not technology, are in control. There’s a lot of bad radio out there and naturally, technology has been developed to help people avoid it. (Pandora and satellite radio, I may not like [...]
Another week, another abbreviated short set.
Last night’s show was a lot of fun. I heard Alice Swoboda somewhere in my travels this week (or maybe it just popped into my mind? Oh, who knows.) and said to myself, “Yes indeed, this will be the week that unleash Alice on [...]
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As you know, I am a devoted radio listener. (As a radio DJ, I should be!) The WFMU annual fundraising marathon is underway [...]
(Apologies to Julia Factorial for swiping her old WPRB show title.)
Class was canceled tonight, so I am getting to do something fun (but not quite totally out of left field): the monthly RefreshPhilly event. I never get to attend these, but tonight I’m glad I did.
Arrived [...]
Spotted this lovely Post-It set in Blick Art Supply while waiting to pick up Sara’s wedding invite envelopes. Am deeply contemplating blogging on them, and uploading the scans as posts. Anything to keep me posting!
Another season, another template. What’s the fun of it if you can’t change your e-clothes, right?
I have come to embrace the abbreviated set but I have to admit, it makes for a lot of mental residue. Songs get lodged in my brain and I want to play them, but somehow they never make it to the actual show, no matter how many Notes To Self [...]
A lot of days I just feel like I’m ready to give up blogging only to be sucked back in. I often wonder about this ridiculous impulse to share with the murky, shaky, vague public. And then I realized that I’m doing it for me, not you.
I love [...]
Holy crapola am I a slacker when it comes to updating this blog. Slothathon 2009 came and went in the blink of an eye.
School is good and busy; I am working my way through certification for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to conduct research. What the stupid certification process failed [...]
So I’m going to try and liveblog Obama’s Inauguration. I don’t have Internet & cable service at home temporarily, so I’m watching this on the ol’ rabbit ears and posting from the iPhone. (When my student loans decide to show their face, I can pay my bill! Whee!)
08:30 I [...]
What a better way to start than with the laziest part of my body (i.e., my fat ass)? Click through for a preview of the workouts and what I thought.
Cindy Whitmarsh’s “10 Minute Buns & Thighs”
Stephanie Vitorino’s “Bootylicious Buns”
I started Day 1 with Cindy’s video and on Day 2 [...]
As you have probably guessed, I haven’t gone back to work like everyone else in the world. While I greatly appreciate the break, I have entered what I’m calling “Slothathon 2009.”
Yesterday was the first time I left my house since Friday, which was when I did my radio show. [...]
Shaky webcam alert, but it’s so worth it. Pattern Is Movement covered Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” during their New Year’s Show. You know what? It’s not half bad. It’s loose, no doubt, but so sloppy that it’s a shambles (which is something you’d expect on NYE). Andrew’s falsetto works [...]
While everyone has gone off to work, I am at home in the thick of Slothathon 2009 and growing impatient by the moment. Soundtracking today are Connecticut’s Eula, whose Fill Your Heart EP is out now-ish.
This is pretty much your standard-issue 90s-style quiet-loud-quiet-LOUD indie rock tune, but I’m just [...]
First show of the year! On the drive to Princeton I saw a Lil’ Kim-esque woman driving a brown and pink Bentley. I wish that was totally made up, but nope, all too real. I considered this a good omen.
Good show overall, except for when male listeners call in to [...]
Well, I did it. I made it through my first [intentional] extended broadcast. And I couldn’t have done it without the support of the best people on the planet: WPRB’s listeners. When I had a severe energy crash around 9:30 PM ET, it was our listeners who phoned, [...]
For the most part New Year’s Eve is a social trainwreck waiting to happen. Not necessarily on my behalf, but if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s knowing that somewhere in America someone is drunk, getting in a fight, crying — or sometimes all three at once. That’s [...]
Three times makes it a tradition! Again I found myself on the WPRB airwaves leading into Jon’s Xmas Marathon, playing my favorite records of the year. Unlike previous years (and I’m sort of glad to be out of this racket), I didn’t put together a numerical list. Just came up [...]
If there is one thing that is good about Philadelphia, it’s the fact that there’s always something to surprise you. You’re never really “done” with this city (which is both good and bad, but that’s for another time). Today I got a sneak peek at a great public [...]
At my housewarming party over the weekend, I busted out my tape recorder, locked the doors, and made my guests sing “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Actually, they picked the song, I just taped it. Anyway, thanks to my guests, who did this relatively sober, but no thanks [...]
I totally forgot to mention this, but it looks like I’ll be going to the PCA/ACA National Conference in April to give a paper about concert photography.
Will anyone else be heading down to New Orleans for this?
[...]I love reading, but with ~100 students under my tutleage this semester, reading academic work meant I was in a struggle to stay awake the moment my eyes hit the page. So here are some of the pieces that really kept me going all semester long.
I realize that some of [...]
Friday 12/09: Holding down the fort during my regular slot time of 6-830 PM. Glad to be back after a week of finals, not so glad to be going on the air with a cold.
Wed 12/24, 4-7 PM: Pregame Jon Solomon’s 24-Hour marathon with me! I’ll be putting together my [...]
I look forward to the day when Stereolab goes through their minimal-wave-karate-costume-blowing-bubbles phase, if this is any indication:
[...]It’s official: I don’t like anything that is actually new. Putting together this year’s “Best of 2008″ is gonna be a real pain in the ass.
[...]Unrest’s video for “Isabel”. I’m pretty certain this is one of the best songs ever.
[...]Dif Juz performing “Hu” live in 1985. Happy Thanksgiving!
[...]On this week’s radio program I’ll be joined by my good pal Ned. Last year was a ton of fun, so I hope you can tune in. Who knows what will happen this year!
[...]Over the weekend not only did I DJ a pretty amazing house party (where the floor shook so much, I had people holding the turntables to dampen the vibrations), but I received a fairly incredible listener email as well. So I’m flyin’ high right now.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot [...]
Over the weekend I had the strangest thing happen to me. An acquaintance was introducing me to another person, and when it came to tell this person what I did, they stumbled.
“You used to book shows, write — I guess all you do is a radio show [...]
Friday my regular slot on WPRB was pre-empted for sports (OH HAI), so I managed to plow through a pile of coursework. The amount of work, and the speed at which it was completed is exhilarating. (I used to think I was a fast reader, then I came to grad [...]
I can’t tell if I’m in love or just swayed by the hype, but Those Dancing Days is on heavy rotation lately. Is it a bad thing that I can’t differentiate between emotion and persuasion, or more specifically, is it about refusing either? Does it even matter at all? [...]
Yes, I registered for BarCampPhilly; I’ll be doing some intermittent blogging about it tomorrow. Will you be there? Drop me a line in the comments.
[...]
Today, for the first time in eight years, I felt like things were possible. Today, for the first time in eight years, I am proud to call myself an American.
[...]Welp, I’ve been waiting at 30th Street for over an hour now. While everyone’s celebrating, SEPTA is falling to pieces. A service rep told us “the monitors are down” and they’re just calling trains as they come. The station intercom warns about delays — so typical of technology to pass [...]
For some bizarre reason, I will be reporting from the Phillies Victory/Celebratory Parade today for WPRB. This should be totally fun, totally surreal. And then I have to run to Princeton to my radio show (6-8:30 PM! Tune in!).
Anyway, speaking of the Phillies, Ted Passon’s car was decimated on [...]
Yup, it’s gonna be a long night, friends. Forget the champagne; break out the Natty Lite and Hurricane. Stay classy, Philadelphia.
[...]
1: Hot Guts at Pilam, October 2008. 2: Awesome Color. Both images © MTS
I know this is my proverbial bed and I have to lie in it, but goddamn, having a life outside of school is next to impossible. I did catch Awesome Color [...]
I just heard the Phillies are going to the World Series! Good for them. I shall continue my new plan of rooting for the team. It’s called Not Caring, simply because when I start paying attention the local teams fail miserably. Make no mistake: I love the [...]
Bush Tetras, “Too Many Creeps”
What terrible news: Laura Kennedy, original bassist for the legendary no wavers the Bush Tetras, is in need of a liver transplant.
She has lived with Hepatitis C for 25 years, and the disease is now causing her liver to fail. She is currently on a [...]
Enjoy this wonderful Dolly Mixture tune.
[...]Well, it’s happened again: I have internet access at home. And despite all attempts to go as wire-free as possible, I can’t but feel more entangled than usual. (One day I hope to print directly from my brain.)
As usual, I have nothing new to report. Do you want to read [...]
OK, so the image quality’s totally crapsville (that’s what you get when you buy iPhone), but as part of WPRB’s membership drive these buttons will be available in exchange for your donations of 5$ or more — and only during Pop Recon. So get them while the [...]
It’s that time of the year again: the annual membership drive. We’ve got a week of great programming — the schedule should be up soon.
I hope you’ll consider making a donation during the drive; listener contributions help cover our day-to-day operations and, of course, keeps WPRB bringing you its [...]
Oh, hi. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Here are some things you might want to know:
1. I’ve moved and have no internet access at home. I realize it’s ironic that a media studies person would live without internet, but it’s pretty liberating. When I go home I [...]
Thanks to the CW Network, blogging has officially entered the mainstream consciousness. Though we’ve been living with Gossip Girl and its anonymous author/narrator for a year, it’s been rather a passive relationship. With each fantastic plot twist the characters move further away from living underneath the Gossip Girl’s watchful keyboard. [...]
Yup, that’s right. I’ll be spending the next two weeks moving and getting ready for school, so I’m off the air until the start of the fall schedule. Her Jazz moves to Fridays at 7PM, after the Top Ten Show (which I’m hosting again).
Tonight I’ll be previewing forthcoming releases [...]
A couple of quick thoughts on the demise of Pandora and Muxtape… One’s a streaming suggestion service, the other’s a streaming personal mixtapes generated by user-uploaded tracks. Whether you agree with copyright laws, the impending royalty increases or not, the red flags were raised from the get-go. Apologies if this [...]
My desk at work is not that exciting except for:
1. A platinum record given to us from Tommy Boy Records to commemorate the success of Naughty By Nature.
2. A 1986 SPIN Magazine award for WPRB’s excellence in keeping “it’s balance in the battle between free-form and format”.
3. [...]
One of the big projects I’ve been working on here at the station has been our Free Yr Radio event. Our concert with Secret Machines and DJ Dave P happens this Tuesday 8/12 at 6PM. It’s a free, all-ages event.
Yup, it’s back. This month features interviews with No Age and The Breeders.
Pop Recon airs at 7-8PM ET on WPRB. If you miss it, the podcast version will go online in a week or so.
[...]Things I remember about this show: talking about I find lobsters humorous, and that I enjoy yelling the phrase “CLAWS!” for no reason whatsoever. Yeah, I had a lot of fun on the air today!
07-31-2008 | 1800 - 2000 | WPRB 103.3 FM
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(super)chunk - my noise [...]
I love to check the spam filter. Here’s three I found particularly hilarious today, causing tears of laughter that could only be stopped after 5 minutes:
Subject: Jesus Christ To Star In Next Series Of Batman
Message: Polar Bear Finds Yoga Great For Flexibility, But Murder On The BallsSubject: Release Of [...]
As many of you know, I host the Top Ten show. When Pop Recon isn’t running, there’s a blank hour on the schedule that I fill with random music. Sometimes I’ll play records that are brand new to WPRB that week, sometimes I’ll do label tributes, etc. They’re not the [...]
Leaving the office. July 24, 2008.
Technology is occasionally astounding. We are living in the age of Moore’s Law, indeed, and then some. It took me a year, one Hasselblad, lots of money and patience to do my Untitled Stills from New Jersey series. With one iPhone I [...]
Vacation, all I ever wanted! Yes, sometimes a little break can change things around for the better. I definitely felt back in the swing of things after. Big thanks to Mike Lupica (of WFMU) for coverin’ on my 7/10 show!
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1800 - 2000 | 07-17-2008 | WPRB 103.3 [...]
After Motherwell. July 21, 2008.
It’s my birthday. A number that Counts. I strive to keep this blog free of personal business, which probably explains why I write less and less here. The problem isn’t that I don’t have much to say about music, technology, and so forth [...]
» I am still reeling from two incredible interviews I taped with No Age and the Breeders this past week, to be featured on an upcoming epsiode of Pop Recon. Both bands couldn’t have been better people to simply talk with. And if I told my teenage self that I’d [...]
Due to that ol’ chestnut, “Apple bricked my iPhone while I was trying to update the firmware to 2.0,” I can’t make any phone calls.
Until this is corrected, the ONLY way you can reach me is via email or feel free to leave a comment on this blog.
» [...]
I cannot lie: I have been kinda sorta phoning it in on my radio program the past couple of weeks. Between covering for Jon (which has been a joy), my own program, the Top Ten show, Pop Recon, and my daily duties, I am more than a little fried.
Have [...]
